RRF grant provides funding for WVU vision researchers to explore causes for age-related vision loss

A grant awarded to the West Virginia University School of Medicine is helping vision researchers further explore the relationship between a key molecule in the retina and age-related vision loss.

The one-year renewable grant was originally awarded to the WVU Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences from the Retina Research Foundation in 2024, before being renewed for 2025 with the option to renew again the following year. The project, led by associate professor Jianhai Du, Ph.D., will provide approximately $43,000 in funding for research into the eye disease known as age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Dr. Du explained that AMD is a common eye disease that blurs central vision and occurs when aging causes damage to the retina. While AMD doesn’t cause total blindness, he said that central vision loss can make it more difficult to see faces, read, drive and perform common household tasks such as cooking and cleaning.

“AMD is a leading cause of vision loss among older adults, with a rate of progression that can vary from patient to patient,” he said. “Our goal is to build on everything we’ve learned over the past year so we can better understand its causes and prevent substantial vision loss among AMD patients before it happens.”

In 2024, Du and his team identified an increased rate of degradation among a specific molecule in the retina that is key to metabolism regulation among subjects with AMD. Now, in the second year of this project, vision researchers will further explore this relationship by examining the rate at which this molecule degrades over time and how that degradation relates directly to the decline in visual function that occurs among AMD patients.

“We have made significant progress in better understanding the causes of this devastating disease over the past year, and I look forward to continuing this work with our talented team of researchers and technicians at WVU,” Du said. “As we continue this research in 2025, we aim to determine how halting the breakdown of this molecule can protect the eye against retinal degeneration and ultimately against permanent vision loss.”

To learn more about research opportunities at the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, visit medicine.hsc.wvu.edu/eye/research.